Quality Content: Why it Matters

Ever since major search engine, Google, went on a warpath with multiple updates to its ranking algorithm, focusing on the perceived value of a website based on its content, the phrase “content is king” has never been more accurate. Quality content has become a major key to obtaining awesome positions in search engines for competitive phrases.

Quality Trumps Quantity

While having a lot of decent content on your website is good and will pave the way to ranking well for some low to medium competition terms, quality wins nearly every time. Why? Well, 5 well-written, organized posts tend to perform a lot better than say 10 or 15 that barely pass for okay. This is relevant to both search rankings and actual user engagement.

These aren’t just hypothetical statements, either. Hubspot points out that even throwing lower-quality pieces of content in the mix with higher quality articles still diminishes the perceived value of your products or business as a whole.

So, in other words, you should be focusing on quality over quantity at all times. In the end, quality will provide more value in the form of better search rankings, more consumer engagement, and better opinions of your company or brand.

Content Needs to Be Readable

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons search engines like Google have begun using content quality as a ranking factor is to improve the overall user experience. Landing on a website or page that is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors can be a huge turnoff for most readers. Search engines like Google want to send users to sites that actually provide value and are easy to read.

You want to be able to easily read or even scan any material you’re looking at online without having to process errors and try to determine what the author is saying. Clearly written pieces that are free of errors make the reading experience much more pleasant. This is one reason why search engines, especially Google, try to customize their algorithms to rank high-quality content over junk content.

Longer Pieces Perform Better

It’s been proven in multiple SEO case studies that lengthier content (pieces between 1,500 and 2,500 words) tend to perform better in the SERPs than shorter articles. Why? Well, it’s actually rather simple.

You see, usually, whenever you write a longer post, you naturally add in multiple long-tail phrases throughout the content. This helps search engines like Google better determine what the content is about. They also tend to view longer content as being more authoritative and useful for the end-user.

A lot of SEO enthusiasts have been raving about what they call “topic pages” these days. This refers to a longer page dedicated to a single product or major phrase. The page typically consists of information related to several sub-topics under the primary subject. This essentially makes the page a definitive guide on the topic. Engines like Google love to see this kind of content and it tends to do very well in the rankings.

Keeps Visitors Coming Back

Another reason search engines value high quality content so much is the fact that it helps create loyal readers. When you consistently produce top-notch material, visitors notice. They remember your brand and begin to respect it as an authority in the field because of the quality of content your website contains.

After a while, return visits start becoming a more regular event. This leads to better brand engagement, more traffic, and enhanced sales opportunities.

How does this affect your SEO rankings, though? Well, it’s a bit complicated, but most marketers seem to agree that established brands definitely get priority in the SERPs. They’re also convinced that websites with higher traffic volumes get a bit more attention, too.

So, having people specifically searching for content written by your brand is a key indicator of the authority your business has. If someone is searching for “best blank from YOUR BRAND” rather than just “best blank”, engines like Google take note that your brand is being searched and consider that data in their algorithm.

Even if your content doesn’t snag the attention of Google, although it definitely should if it’s quality, having return visitors is a huge benefit to your business. It means people are beginning to take notice of your company and trust it as a source of reliable information in the industry. That’s huge for your brand.

Google is King

Everyone knows, without a doubt, that Google is the reigning king of online searches. They receive the vast majority of search traffic, far beyond their competitors including Bing and Yahoo. That said, ranking well in Google is definitely crucial to succeeding in your search marketing campaigns.

In order to do that, you’ve got to give Google what it wants. They’ve made it abundantly clear that one of the most important steps to making your website Google-friendly is providing high-quality content to your end-users.

Google wants your website pages to contain information that is useful to the reader, not just optimized to perform well in the SERPs. They specifically claim that whenever you provide quality you will find that you’ll receive more traffic and even accrue more backlinks. This is because other sites are more likely to link to you if you provide content that is designed to help readers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the content on your website plays a significant role in determining where your business will be seen in the major search engines. High-quality content will always trump poorly-written or sub-par pieces. If you’re primary goal is to obtain more links and secure higher positions in the SERPs, your website needs to be loaded with content that will serve your readers well. It can be difficult for businesses to understand that quality is more important than quantity, but it’s essential to online success.

About Sean Donahoe

Sean is one of the most recognized industry leaders in business and marketing. As a popular speaker, author, consultant he has helped over 50,000 students world wide find success in their businesses and has consulted with Fortune 500 companies and businesses of every size grow and thrive...